Project A-Kon

A-Kon
Status	Active
Venue	Hilton Anatole Dallas
Location(s)	Dallas, Texas
Country	United States
Inaugurated	1990
Attendance	29,383 in 2015
Website
http://www.a-kon.com

A-Kon, formerly known as Project: A-Kon, is a three-day anime convention held annually in Dallas, Texas usually on the first weekend of June.^[1] First held in 1990 with just 380 people in attendance,^[2] A-Kon is North America's longest running national anime convention.^[3] The convention is the 4th largest North American anime convention as of 2015.^[4]

Departments

A-Kon consists of several departments, ranging from Kon Patrol to Medical to Children's Programming. Each year, usually in February or March, they post a web page for volunteer sign-up. Volunteers work at least sixteen hours during the weekend and receive a free pass to the convention, and depending on the staff they are working for crash space for the weekend.

Programming

While the focus of the convention is centered on anime fandom and screenings of films and television series, many other activities take place encompassing various segments of geek and Japanese pop culture. These events include panels with American authors and artists, a console gaming room, tabletop gaming room, cosplay, scavenger hunts, martial arts demonstrations, an art show, and concerts by Japanese and SteamPunk bands. The convention also maintains a vigorous social network presence on Facebook and Twitter, having about 15,000^[5] and 7,000^[6] followers respectively, through which they post information and run contests throughout the year.

History

The name seems to be a play on the early anime series Project A-ko + Convention.^[7]

Event history

Dates	Location	Atten.[7]	Guests
July 28–29, 1990	Richardson Hilton Richardson, Texas	380[8]
May 25–26, 1991	Radisson Hotel & Suites Dallas, Texas	497	Adam Warren.[9]
June 5–7, 1992	Holiday Inn Brookhollow Dallas, Texas[10]
May 28–30, 1993	Holiday Inn Brookhollow Dallas, Texas	850[11]
June 3–5, 1994	Sheraton-Mockingbird Hotel Dallas, Texas	1,111	Robert DeJesus, Ben Dunn, Neil Nadelman, Lisa "Honey-chan" Nelson, Monkey Punch, Tomoko Saito, Sue Shambaugh, Toren Smith, and Adam Warren.[12]
June 2, 1995	Harvey Addison Hotel[13] Addison, Texas	1,450	Kevin Altieri, Ippongi Bang, Glen Murakami, and Yorihisa Uchida.[14]
May 31 – June 2, 1996	Harvey Addison Hotel Addison, Texas	800	Ben Dunn, Neil Nadelman, Jan Scott-Frazier, Rikki Simons, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[15]
May 30 – June 1, 1997	Harvey Hotel-Addison[16] Addison, Texas	1,243	Tiffany Grant and Jan Scott-Frazier.[17]
May 29–31, 1998	Harvey Hotel D/FW[18] Dallas, Texas	1,931	Will Allison, Ippongi Bang, Steve Bennett, Pat Duke, Ben Dunn, Newton Ewell, Tiffany Grant, Amy Howard-Wilson, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Kuni Kimura, Neil Nadelman, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Shawn the Touched, Elin Winkler, Robert Woodhead, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[19]
June 4–6, 1999	Hyatt Regency DFW[20] Dallas, Texas	3,000	Will Allison, Hiroshi Aro, Steve Bennett, Jessica Calvello, Rodney "Largo" Caston, Robert DeJesus, Pat Duke, Ben Dunn, P.N. Elrod, Newton Ewell, Tiffany Grant, Lea Hernandez, Amy Howard-Wilson, Mari Iijima, Kuni Kimura, Trish Ledoux, Edward Luena, Neil Nadelman, Fred Perry, Rikki Simons, Brian Stelfreeze, Shawn the Touched, Valkyrie Games, Adam Warren, Brett Weaver, Joe Wight, Elin Winkler, Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[21]
June 2–4, 2000	Hyatt Regency DFW Dallas, Texas	4,500	Arik Renee Avila, Rodney "Largo" Caston, Dementia7 Studios, Tiffany Grant, Amy Howard-Wilson, Lisa Ortiz, and Gilles Poitras.[22]
June 1–3, 2001	Sheraton Park Central Hotel Dallas, Texas	5,200	Arik Renee Avila, Dementia7 Studios, Crispin Freeman, Tiffany Grant, Amy Howard-Wilson, and Brett Weaver.[23]
May 31 – June 2, 2002	Hyatt Regency DFW Dallas, Texas	6,420	Will Allison, Arik Renee Avila, Steve Bennett, Tippi N. Blevins, Rodney "Largo" Caston, Meg Chittenden, Dementia7 Studios, DNA Studios, Duel Jewel, Pat Duke, Ben Dunn, P.N. Elrod, Newton Ewell, Melanie Fletcher, Fred Gallagher, Tiffany Grant, Yaya Han, Matthew High, Taliesin Jaffe, Daniel Kanemitsu, Kobushi Taiko, Steve Kyte, Edward Luena, Lee W. Madison, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Scott McNeil, Lindze Merritt, Millermuller Ballet, Phillip Nelson, Jonathan Osborne, Panther Comics, Eddie Perkins, Fred Perry, Radio Comix, Xero Reynolds, Joe Rosales, Stan Sakai, Jan Scott-Frazier, Diana X. Sprinkle, Michael Suarez, The Sun String Quartet, Valkyrie Games, Joe Wight, and Elin Winkler.[24]
May 30 – June 1, 2003	Hyatt Regency DFW Dallas, Texas	7,413	Will Allison, American Dream, Arik Renee Avila, Greg Ayres, John Barrett, Steve Bennett, Bob Bergen, Kei Blue, Samuel Bohon, Camino, Jonathan Clements, Dr. Comet, Robert DeJesus, Dementia7 Studios, Doug Dlin, DNA Studios, Duel Jewel, Lee Duhlig, Pat Duke, Ben Dunn, P.N. Elrod, Rod Espinosa, Rhonda Eudaly, Newton Ewell, Bruce Faulconer, Melanie Fletcher, Iain Gill, Tiffany Grant, James Hanrahan, Kyle Hebert, Matthew High, Amy Howard-Wilson, Ursula Husted, David Hutchison, Charlene Ingram, Daniel Kanemitsu, Kikimo-dan, Steve Kyte, Jason Lee, Joshua Lesnick, Bruce Lewis, Edward Luena, Lee W. Madison, Manga Graphix, Lee Martindale, Carol McAlister, Helen McCarthy, Mike McFarland, Scott McNeil, Stephanie Nadolny, Lisa "Honey-chan" Nelson, Phillip Nelson, Jana G. Oliver, Chris Patton, Eddie Perkins, Fred Perry, Walker Plagge, Monica Rial, Sally Ridout, Kai Robertson, Jan Scott-Frazier, Rikki Simons, Diana X. Sprinkle, Brian Stelfreeze, Strong Arm Productions, The Sun String Quartet, Nobuyuki Takahashi, Jonathan Tarbox, Temple Studios, Eric Vale, Valkyrie Games, Michael Vega, J. Shanon Weaver, Jochen Weltjens, Joe Wight, Elin Winkler, Amanda Winn-Lee, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[25]
June 4–6, 2004	Adam's Mark Hotel Dallas, Texas	9,449	Will Allison, Arik Renee Avila, John Barrett, Steve Bennett, Samuel Bohon, Rick Bones, Camino, Michael Coleman, Zach Davis, Dementia7 Studios, Brad DeMoss, Doug Dlin, Do As Infinity (D-A-I), Lee Duhlig, Pat Duke, P.N. Elrod, Rod Espinosa, Newton Ewell, Bruce Faulconer, Steve Fellows, Fred Gallagher, Lauren Goodnight, Tiffany Grant, Alan Gutierrez, James Hanrahan, Kyle Hebert, Matthew High, Tony Hobdy, Amy Howard-Wilson, Ursula Husted, David Hutchison, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jonathan Klein, Steve Kyte, Mark Lancaster, Bruce Lewis, Lee W. Madison, Manga Graphix, Carol McAlister, Helen McCarthy, Mike McFarland, Scott McNeil, Stephanie Nadolny, Jonathan Osborne, Eddie Perkins, Walker Plagge, Psycho Le Cému, Xero Reynolds, Monica Rial, Sally Ridout, Kai Robertson, S. John Ross, Carrie Savage, Sean Schemmel, Jan Scott-Frazier, JE Smith, Diana X. Sprinkle, Brian Stelfreeze, The Sun String Quartet, Nami Tamaki, Jonathan Tarbox, Valkyrie Games, Michael Vega, J. Shanon Weaver, Jochen Weltjens, Joe Wight, and Elin Winkler.[26]
June 3–5, 2005	Adam's Mark Hotel[27] Dallas, Texas	10,771	Tom Bateman, Ferret Baudoin, Steve Bennett, DJ Boss, Anthony Brownrigg, Robert DeJesus, Michael Dobson, Robin Atkin Downes, dream, Ben Dunn, P.N. Elrod, Newton Ewell, Melanie Fletcher, Fred Gallagher, Megan Giles, Kyle Hebert, Joel Heyman, Matthew High, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Tramell Isaac, Taliesin Jaffe, Kumiko Kato, Kobushi Taiko, Steve Kyte, Bruce Lewis, Masao Maruyama, Jonathan Mathers, Helen McCarthy, Mike McFarland, Vic Mignogna, Stephanie Nadolny, Phillip Nelson, Jonathan Osborne, Eddie Perkins, Fred Perry, Michael Pondsmith, Radio Comix, Xero Reynolds, Kai Robertson, Rooster Teeth Productions, Joe Rosales, Brian Ruh, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Yasufumi Soejima, Gustavo Sorola, Michael Suarez, Takahiro Umehara, Elin Winkler, Dan Woren, Toshifumi Yoshida, and ZZ.[28]
June 9–11, 2006	Adam's Mark Hotel[29] Dallas, Texas	12,459	Justin Achilli, Steve Bennett, Eirik Blackwolf, Anthony Brownrigg, Chromelodeon, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Ben Dunn, Newton Ewell, Caitlin Glass, Michael "Piano Squall" Gluck, Darrel Guilbeau, Zel Harris, David Hutchison, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jonathan Klein, Kotoko, Steve Kyte, Bruce Lewis, Peter Mayhew, Helen McCarthy, Jamie McGonnigal, Vic Mignogna, Jana G. Oliver, Tony Oliver, Jonathan Osborne, Penicillin, Fred Perry, Radio Comix, Xero Reynolds, Rooster Teeth Productions, Jeremy Ross, Kristine Sa, Jan Scott-Frazier, Patrick Seitz, Doug Smith, Gustavo Sorola, Sonny Strait, Jonathan Tarbox, Sean Teague, and Joe Wight.[30]
June 1–3, 2007	Adam's Mark Hotel[31] Dallas, Texas	14,309	An Cafe, Peter S. Beagle, Steve Bennett, Bleedman, Brian Denham, Newton Ewell, Brian Glass, Kyle Hebert, Matt Herms, Samantha Inoue-Harte, ketchup mania, Steve Kyte, Bruce Lewis, Helen McCarthy, MELL, Vic Mignogna, Chris Patton, Wendy Powell, Scott Ramsoomair, Xero Reynolds, Rooster Teeth Productions, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Gustavo Sorola, Spike Spencer, David Stanworth, The Sun String Quartet, Jonathan Tarbox, Howard Tayler, Billy Tucci, Travis Willingham and Tommy Yune.[32]
May 30 – June 1, 2008	Sheraton Dallas Hotel Dallas, Texas	15,324	Steve Bennett, Anthony Brownrigg, Budo Grape, Steven Cummings, David Drake, Bill Fawcett, Kyle Hebert, M. Alice LeGrow, Helen McCarthy, Kevin McKeever, Vic Mignogna, Douglas Niles, Chris Patton, Wendy Powell, Monica Rial, The Sun String Quartet, Jonathan Tarbox, Versailles Philharmonic Quintet, and Shinichi Watanabe.[33]
May 29–31, 2009	Sheraton Dallas Hotel Dallas, Texas	16,037	Lynn Abbey, Vanessa "Vii" Arteaga, Keith Baker, Paul Benjamin, Steve Bennett, Anthony Brownrigg, Camino, John D. Carmack II, Megumi Cummings, Steven Cummings, Camilla d'Errico, Brian Denham, Tim Eldred, Newton Ewell, Bill Fawcett, Melanie Fletcher, Anthony Gallela, Oscar J. Garza III, Yaya Han, Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Kyle Hebert, DJ Infam0us, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Thomas W. Knowles, Steve Kyte, M. Alice LeGrow, Bruce Lewis, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Mike McFarland, Kevin McKeever, Vic Mignogna, Jody Lynn Nye, Ananth Panagariya, Chris Patton, Wendy Powell, Mike Resnick, Jeremy Ross, S. John Ross, Tony Salvaggio, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Jonathan Tarbox, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, Jonathan Thompson.[34]
June 4–6, 2010	Sheraton Dallas Hotel Dallas, Texas	17,596	Abney Park, Robert Axelrod, Peter S. Beagle, Steve Bennett, David Brehm, Anthony Brownrigg, Jon Buran, Ewen Cluney, Sheldon Drzka, Melanie Fletcher, Esther Friesner, Terrance Griep, Yaya Han, Victor Hao, Malcolm Harris, Chris Hazelton, Kyle Hebert, Steve Horton, DJ Infam0us, Thomas W. Knowles, Steve Kyte, Bruce Lewis, Catherine Lundoff, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Kevin McKeever, DJ Midget, Jim O'Rear, Jan Scott-Frazier, Jonathan Tarbox, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, Jason Thompson, Ursula Vernon, Crystal Yates, Stephanie Young.[35]
June 10–12, 2011	Sheraton Dallas Hotel Dallas, Texas	18,447	Lynn Abbey, Vanessa "Vii" Arteaga, Clint Bickham, Blood Stain Child, Jennie Breeden, Brentalfloss, Robert Brown, Anthony Brownrigg, Jon Buran, Chloe Chan, D, Brian Denham, Melanie Fletcher, Kaja Foglio, Phil Foglio, Brad Foster, Esther Friesner, J. Grant, Terrance Griep, Priscilla Hamby, Kyle Hebert, Mark Hildreth, Steve Horton, Amy Howard-Wilson, Mel Hynes, DJ Infam0us, Cherami Leigh, Bruce Lewis, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Kevin McKeever, Elizabeth Moon, Mandy "AmazonMandy" Moore, Monty Oum, Michael Poe, Amy Reeder Hadley, Emmanuel "Master" Rodriguez, Jonathan Tarbox, Adande "sWooZie" Thorne, Laura J. Underwood, and Eric Wile.[36]
June 1–3, 2012	Sheraton Dallas Hotel Dallas, Texas	21,982	Curtis Arnott, AYABIE, Steve Bennett, Brentalfloss, Nathan Robert Brown, Anthony Brownrigg, CJ Cherryh, Ming Doyle, Sheldon Drzka, Sarah Elkins, Jane Fancher, Melanie Fletcher, Quinton Flynn, Scott Frerichs, Esther Friesner, Catherine E. Hajek-Harris, Bev Hale, Yaya Han, Kyle Hebert, DJ Infam0us, Nick Landis, Chris Layfield, Cherami Leigh, Pascalle Lepas, Russell Lissau, DJ MaRia, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Vic Mignogna, Elizabeth Moon, Jana G. Oliver, OZ, Meredith Placko, Tak Sakaguchi, Rikki Simons, Sleeping Samurai, Elizabeth Sloan, Jesse Sosa, Dirk Tiede, Harry Turtledove, Lisle Wilkerson, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[37]
May 31-June 2, 2013	Hilton Anatole Dallas Dallas, Texas	22,366	Curtis Arnott, Martin Billany, Exist Trace, Esther Friesner, Todd Haberkorn, Kyle Hebert, Lee Martindale, Kristen McGuire, Vic Mignogna, Elizabeth Moon, Meredith Placko, August Ragone, Sleeping Samurai, Jesse Sosa, Sonny Strait, Take One Productions, Jonathan Tarbox, Cathy Weseluck, and Lisle Wilkerson.[38]
June 6–8, 2014	Hilton Anatole Dallas Dallas, Texas	26,377	Curtis Arnott, Martin Billany, Anthony Brownrigg, Darren J. Gendron, Caitlin Glass, Yaya Han, Kyle Hebert, Amy Howard-Wilson, Taliesin Jaffe, Nick Landis, M. Alice LeGrow, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Elizabeth Moon, Gilles Poitras, Lawrence Simpson, Mike Sinterniklaas, Ken Steacy, Take One Productions, Jonathan Tarbox, and J. Michael Tatum.[39]
June 5–7, 2015	Hilton Anatole Dallas Dallas, Texas	29,383	Curtis Arnott, Nathan Robert Brown, Scott Frerichs, Caitlin Glass, Kyle Hebert, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Nick Landis, Bruce Lewis, Kristen McGuire, Amber Nash, Trina Nishimura, Bryce Papenbrook, Tyson Rinehart, Anthony Sardinha, Take One Productions, J. Michael Tatum, and David Vincent.[40]

References

1. Maurstad, Tom (2006-06-09). "Pop Culture: A-Kon". The Dallas Morning News. Started way back in 1990, Project A-Kon - now just A-Kon - is the oldest and one of the biggest conventions in the country devoted to Japanese animation...
2. Maurstad, Tom (2003-05-30). "All anime, all the time; Convention offers round-the-clock immersion in Japanese animation". The Dallas Morning News. A grand total of 380 people attended the first Project A-Kon, way back in 1990. This weekend, more than 7,000 will flock to the Hyatt Regency DFW for the annual festival devoted to all things anime. Meanwhile, the number of vendors and exhibitors has jumped from a few to a few dozen.
3. "Convention Schedule: Pre-'97". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
4. Delahanty, Patrick (January 4, 2016). "Ten Largest North American Anime Conventions of 2015". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
5. https://www.facebook.com/ProjectAKon
6. https://www.twitter.com/AKon_Convention
7. "A-Kon". A-Kon. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
8. "Project: A-Kon 1990 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
9. "Project: A-Kon 1991 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
10. "Project: A-Kon 1992 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
11. "Project: A-Kon 1993 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
12. "Project: A-Kon 1994 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
13. Maurstad, Tom (1995-06-04). "Bringing fantasy figures to paying customers; Convention touts latest in Japanese animation". The Dallas Morning News.
14. "Project: A-Kon 1995 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
15. "Project: A-Kon 1996 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
16. Maurstad, Tom (1997-06-01). "Convention becomes a bazaar for the bizarre; Costumed 'anime' fans crowd the Project: A-Kon marketplace". The Dallas Morning News. In its eighth year, Project: A-Kon has grown into one of the largest conventions devoted to anime (Japanese animation) in the United States - this year, guests from around the country are expected to push attendance over 2,000.
17. "Project: A-Kon 1997 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
18. Lowry, Mark (1998-05-29). "Go like Speed Racer to Japanese animation festival". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 46. The ninth annual Project: A-Kon, "the convention for animation and pop culture" known as the mother of American anime festivals, takes over the Harvey Hotel D/FW this weekend.
19. "Project: A-Kon 1998 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
20. Wilson, Susan Scott (1999-06-04). "Anything goes in this animated world". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 17. Project: A-Kon 10, which press releases call a convention for animation and pop culture, is the best place to start learning about the definitely over-the-edge world of Japanese animation.
21. "Project: A-Kon 1999 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
22. "A-Kon 2000 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
23. "Project: A-Kon 2001 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
24. "A-Kon 2002 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
25. "A-Kon 2003 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
26. "A-Kon 2004 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
27. Maurstad, Tom (2005-06-01). "Big draw for fans of anime". The Dallas Morning News. Going into its 16th year, Project A-Kon has grown into one of the country's oldest and most important conventions celebrating Japanese animation. For three days, beginning Friday, at the Adam's Mark Hotel downtown, there will be all things anime.
28. "A-Kon 2005 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
29. Maurstad, Tom (2006-06-14). "Drawing power; Thousands of anime enthusiasts become one big freaky family during the annual A-Kon convention". WFAA-TV. Walking into the lobby of the Adam's Mark Hotel during A-Kon 17 is like stepping into a cartoon, except you can smell a mix of sweat, cigarettes, bubblegum and hairspray.
30. "A-Kon 2006 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
31. Emily, Jennifer (2007-06-03). "Fans have character at anime gathering; Costumes abound at colorful convention ending today". The Dallas Morning News.
32. "A-Kon 2007 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
33. "A-Kon 2008 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
34. "A-Kon 2009 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
35. "A-Kon 2010 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
36. "A-Kon 2011 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
37. "A-Kon 2012 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
38. "A-Kon 2013 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
39. "A-Kon 2014 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
40. "A-Kon 2015 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.

External links

• Project: A-Kon web site